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Wednesday, October 22, 2008

He Said, She Said* Edited to Add Something HE SAID*

Him: We already have one. You see her every day in the mirror. Same for me.

(He totally saved his ass with that third sentence. But.....dammit.)

*****Time to ask my peeps:

Hubby insists that all 3 boyz should be bathed and shampooed EVERY NIGHT. I say, meh, every other night is fine enough. So some nights, I just throw them in the bath or shower, and then run around, trying to get stuff done upstairs (picking out pjs and the next days' clothes, ironing, etc.) instead of hovering over them, shampooing hair, scrubbing twigs and berries and getting soaked in the process. Plus, Baby has terrible skin. And it only gets worse in the colder months. So the less he's soaped up, the better it is for his eczema prone little body. And besides all that? THEY'RE NOT EVEN DIRTY.

Last night he came downstairs and said, "Can I ask you a question?" (which is always his lead-in when he's going to criticize.)

I shrugged.

"Do you use soap when you shower?"

Me: "Of course."

"So why don't you use it on the boyz? It only takes 2 seconds."

Me: "Go for it."

So what say you? Do you bathe and shampoo and scrub your children every single night? Or do you, like me, sometimes just let them PLAY in the tub without getting all Mr. Clean on their asses? (While I'm quite positive this won't change Hubby's opinion on the matter, it will open his eyes to the fact that I'm not the only one who thinks that preschoolers don't require daily scrubdowns. It's not like they're walking around looking like Pigpen.)

*Hubby wanted me to clarify after reading all your comments which totally sided with me like I knew they would: Here's his e-mail:

"My point was that if you’re GOING to put them in the bath…WASH THEM! You don’t. Don’t 1. Waste the water and 2. Let them sloth around in their own filth."

And again, like I said, it's not like they're DISGUSTING. So there ISN'T FILTH (and he calls ME dramatic!). And I don't consider it wasting water when 1. they're confined in one spot; 2. they're playing nicely; and 3. I can get my stuff done in the process.

41 comments:

We do baths every other-ish night. My daughter also has skin issues and gets super dry in the winter. Throwing the kids in the tub every other night works great for us (and we have been known to push the bath out just one more night on crazy days).

EVERY night? Seriously? We do in the summer, but definitely not once they are not playing outside every waking minute....in the colder months it is like 3x a week and with eczema they are not supposed to have more than 2 baths a week in the cold months, so our dermatologist told us, but maybe Olivia's is worse than baby's.....if they are in the tub every night, no I would not be scrubbing them down every single night.

Thank GOD others responded that they do it 2-3 times a week because I wasn't going to admit that myself ;) Honestly, I shoot for every other night but it rarely happens. I'd say 3x's a week is probably more realistic. And if hubby doesn't like it, tell him he is welcome to do the job every night like I tell mine when he complains about something!

P.S. I am SO with you on the Maid thing. And hubby is SO not with me either on it. *sigh*

Nope, we only do baths 2-3 times a week. My oldest has really dry skin, like me, and can't handle a bath every night. And my youngest doesn't get dirty much, so there is no point in them being scrubbed every night.

At the risk of child services reading this and taking my kids away... My daughter is on day 4 of no BATH! It's been a very busy few days and I haven't been up for the bathtime battle. Since the hubs works nights, it's sort of been our little secret....:) Just think how clean she'll look when I finally do wash her! Today, I swear!

My 3 year old gets bathed every other night unless it's summer & she's particularly dirty. The boys are 9 & 11 & bathe EVERY night b/c they're boys. They get sweaty just sitting there. Plus, the oldest plays football so he HAS to take a shower after practice. He also has eczema. I've been using Cetaphil soap & Lotion since he was a toddler & it has really helped keep it under control. (the walmart version works just as well)

With sports they pretty much take showers (with soap) every night. If they don't have sports then I let them take a night off. I don't soap them down - I trust that they will do this themselves with baby soap so I don't have to worry about the soap in their eyes. Mine are 6 and 8 -- old enough to bathe themselves.

And... you need a maid if only once a month. It's well worth the $100-$200 a month!!

You're way ahead of me; mine don't even get in the water every night. I figure that they're not pubescent, so they're not sweating a lot (or even at all), they aren't secreting copious amounts of oil, and they don't constantly stink. I'm a 2-4 times a week kind of mom. When I do bathe them, though, they get the full treatment: soap and shampoo.

me thinks hubby wants your boys to look as neat as his garage:) I can think of other things my husband would be more interested in every night than the kids baths but nothing happens that frequently in my house!!!

Never bothered soaping and shampooing every night. They're older now. The 11-year-old lad showers every morning. The 10-year-old girl bathes a few times a week. The 6-year-old boy does maybe two times a week. But I rarely shampoo either of the younger kids' hair. (I don't shampoo my own more than once a week, though I do wet it every day when I shower.) Their hair is still fine and dandy. And I don't soap them up more than once a week. They scrub with water and washcloth regularly. And they still look fine and dandy and smell delicious.

i use to do every other night and then it was just too much, so i try to do that but really - they have gone a full week with out a bath and they are dirty little critters BUT really they are kids, the dirt will not kill them.

in disney, my younger one refused to let us bath her and even worse she would not change her outfit, she wore a minnie mouse dress stained and all for 48 hours.....but she was happy -

It's every other day for us, as well, unless they're particularly dirty, or went swimming and need to get the chlorine out.I have been known to put them in the tub with some bubbles and not do a full scrub.

We scrub and do hair one night, and the next night I do the same thing you do - run around and do chores while they play. They still get the calming effects of a bath, and I get a little chance to play catch up. We are all happy.

And they aren't really dirty - so they aren't really sitting in filth...well, that is how I like to look at it! :-)

My hubby, like yours, feels that they need to shower every single night. But, since I am the working mom that does the dr appts and he can never attend, I may have stretched the truth and suggested that the pediatrician said to bath him every other night. Since he too has super dry and eczema prone skin.... Hubby hasn't questioned it yet. I learned early to throw in the ped card. Shh...

I give both girls a bath every single night, not because they're dirty but because it's part of the bedtime routine - dinner, baths, bottle (for Claire), music and bed. But like you, my kids both have dry skin so they don't get a serious soaping unless really necessary (every few days or so). I wash and condition Charlotte's hair every night though because it's a rat's nest.

Baths- Mom knows best.They don't need everyday unless they are dirty or smelly. Not good for that baby skin. Every other (for the scrubdown) is just dandy.

Sidenote (2cents)-It is actually GOOD for eczema to soak in tub (less the scrubdown)...aka swim around. It takes away the irritants WITHOUT drying out. So NOT a waste of water if it improves baby's fun and mom's sanity.

Maids- Oooooo, he is lucky. I would have broken a mirror on that comment if I were you!

If they don't stink or have bugs on them water is just fine.Get those little pre soaped johnson's washcloths that they can wash themselves with if it's that important to him.Or he could just do it himself, whatever. ;)

If your kids are in the tub every night you're way ahead of me. Zoe gets bathed every other night... usually. Sometimes not even that much. If she looks dirty or her hair looks like it needs a wash she gets a bath. If she gets in the tub she gets shampooed. Ana has probably had a dozen baths in her whole 3 months of life... all with baby wash because I love the smell... not because I think she needs soap.

Every Wednesday and Sunday night, 5 year old girl and 8 1/2 year old boy. Summers if they were in the pool I count it as a bath. REALLY !!! If boy is gross or visibly dirty, he gets a shower. If girl has a smelly "area" or messy poop, quick bath. But the bath days are midweek and Sunday before school and as needed.

My DS (3.5) gets a bath about once a week, unless he rolls around in the dirt or something like that. We wash his hands frequently, and wipe down his face if necessary. He also gets a good butt wiping every time he poops. Often his bath does not include soap at all. Water does a great job of cleaning all by itself.

Your going to think I am so gross but, no. My boys have horrible skin, HORRIBLE. One of them infact has such bad skin that we use aloe wetwipes every other night and only give him an official shower once a week. the other can usually handle 2 times a week but still has severe outbreaks from it. It is so bad that I now make their soap just so I know what is in it. Ugh. SO no, I most def do not give them enough baths.